Tacoma Nature Center - break the daily routine

At the Tacoma Nature Center today. I've been to Cheney Staidum dozens of times, and somehow never knew the Nature Center was here, tucked right in the middle of Tacoma, preserving what must be a sliver of what the forest here looked like before modern civilization arrived. In hindsight, I've even driven past the Nature Center before, but didn't register it. It's amazing how much of our daily lives are dominated by routine, that discovery somehow slips to holidays and special occassions.

My extensions to the Rules for Dating My Daughter

So, I was reading a "rules for dating my daughter," recently, and I felt there was something missing.

So, here are my personal extensions to the "rules for dating my daughter":

New Rules for Dating My Daughter

Rule 1:  Once upon a time, I was a teenage boy. I know what you’re thinking;

Rule 2:  I’m older now – not only do I know what you’re thinking, I’ve had more thoughts than you can possibly imagine, and I know exactly how to tell if you’ve had them, and I already know what will happen to you if those thoughts ever leave your head;

Rule 3:  If you make her cry, I will make you cry;

Rule 4:  You should Google “Rules for Dating My Daughter” – it won’t help you escape, but you might realize how deep you’re already in it;

Rule 5:  When in doubt, remember Rule 1.

Polyglot Park

I love this area.  I'm in Orting at the park and it's interesting hearing the number of families that mash English with another language when talking to their kids. I've identified three different languages, although i couldn't tell you what they were.

Orting of all places ;)

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Main City Park is a Community Park located in our downtown area, right off of the main street through town!  This park features two sections.  The first section located at 101 Train St SE has a play area with a big toy and swings, built by the volunteers, public restrooms, benches, picnic tables, trees, plantings, horse shoe pits, a memorial wall, a gravel parking area and a covered area that is available for reservations.  The second section located at 102 Train St SE is the area where the basketball court is, with trees, plantings, benches, our lovely tree carvings and the gazebo that is available for reservations.  This park is also a place where you can park and walk on the Foothills Trail.   Many events happen right in this park!

Sound Transit - I'm Commuting Now

I've always found watching the world through a train window to be a bit surreal. Like watching a toy set on the table of a toy train set.  It always has that slightly surreal dream-like quality to the visual.  Always.

Never really been a public transit commuter before.  Started a new job this week. Oh sure, I've used buses and trains, but that was when on vacation or for film fests. This isn't glamorous; this is daily grind.

Taking the Sounder (light rail) this mornkbg for the first time. Nice clean trains.

Of course, being able to write this while commuting means less of my life simply wasted by traffic. That's pretty cool.

Daffodil Festival In Orting

Orting, Washington, is this pretty little town that has had explosive population growth as the Seattle workforce moves farther and farther into the suburbs.

They participate in the Daffodil Festival and also have a great little park that my little one enjoys playing at


We have several great parks within about 5 minutes of our house.

Today, we're in Orting enjoying the sunshine and the small town feel.

Disney's Frozen on Ice at the ShoWare Center in Kent.

Having as much fun as the kid :)

Schilter Farm - bringing back memories of my childhood on family farms

I grew up playing on the family farms in Michigan.  I got to build forts with hay bales in the barn with my friends, and we'd make tunnels, too.  One of my friends got beaned with a bale of straw that dropped from the conveyor when we were helping the farmers load it into the barn. He was fine, but it was funny.  I used to test my courage by climbing the ladders to the topmost windows of the barn, and sit on the flower-box like benches to stare out the windows.

There was the giant rock that had been dug up from one of the fields (about 8 feet long, five feet wide and four feet tall - it was fun to climb on and laze in the sun).  There was the old storage building that was falling apart - fun to climb through and imagine myself exploring an ancient ruin.  Later, I got to help tear it down.

Schilter Farm, in Olympia, takes me back. They dressed the place up for the Halloween season.

They also have a Facebook page.